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This year hasn’t been good for me in various ways, including tarot. I just haven’t been in “the mood”. I miss doing it but I’m not going to force myself. Something I have been doing is creating art inspired by the idea of tarot and oracle decks. Basically, creating images I’d love to see in a deck that help invoke a mood, emotion, idea, etc. Maybe someday I’ll turn them into an oracle deck but for now I’ve been uploading them to my Society 6 store.

I started off just making them for myself and back in June I decided I wanted one of my favorites on my wall. So I looked around at different printing services and figured… might as well put it on Society 6 so I can have the art on different products. I really love the quality of the art, it came out absolutely perfect!

Here’s my current altar set up with what I’m calling “Death”:

yeah I have last year’s Halloween decorations from Michael’s on my altar. cashmeousside.

I was so pleased with that one, that I started uploading other art I’d like to have physical copies of and next thing I knew…. hey, I’ve actually got a shop underway!

I’ve been picky about what I put my art on. Like not everything looks good on a pillow don’t force it jeez bro. And I’m only putting up the stuff that I think is my best work (10/10) to close to my best work (7/10). So I’m really just trying to make the nicest store/gallery/portfolio I possibly can.

There’s tons of sales nearly every day right now on the website. Today you get 30% off wall art. Here’s a little somethin’ somethin’ for you if you like my Death image above:

Right now I’m uploading one piece a day, M-F. I’d like to start making posts there (maybe here?) about my thoughts and process of each image, if people are interested.

Wow, I have really been off the tarot wagon this year! I think I’m making another comeback though. I see a lot of people asking how other people use tarot. It’s not a super common question but it did come up a couple days ago. I figured it would be nice to list it all out.

I see a lot of people asking how other people use tarot. It’s not a super common question but it did come up a couple days ago. I figured it would be nice to list it all out. As you’ll see, it’s not a spiritual or religious thing for me but I still have so many uses for tarot.

My Uses

Tarot as a Thinking Tool

This is how I usually use the tarot. I don’t know if “thinking tool” is the best name but it’s what I’ve been using for awhile. I like doing non-divinatory spreads, with positions that ask probing questions. If the questions allow me to muse over something and spark ideas, then that’s the spread for me. I also just like doing some freeform kind of stuff to let the thoughts flow.

Tarot for Art Appreciation

I love art. I love it so fucking hard. Having a tarot deck is like owning a tiny, portable gallery. If I could get paid to look at art all day I’d be the happiest person ever.

Tarot for Learning Random Cool Shit

You’re not going to be able to do this with every card, and certainly not every deck but if you take the time to study a deck, you can discover all sorts of stuff.

A really exciting example of this is the 8 of Wands from the Dust II Onyx deck. Check out what I mean on the artists’ IG right here.

Tarot for Symbology

I am fascinated with symbology. It’s fun seeing how each deck’s artist interprets a card. I think that looking at a lot of different decks and artists can help you deepen your understanding of tarot.

Tarot for Divination

I don’t believe in divination but I will do those sorts of spreads if I’m bored or having fun with friends. That’s right, pearl-clutchers, I have fun with my decks! I don’t take these kinds of readings seriously but when a friend gets something out of it, that’s awesome.

Card of the Day

I go through periods where I’ll do a card of the day for a couple weeks in a row. Then I’ll not do it for a long time. Doing a card a day has multiple uses but I like to pick my own card and think about it throughout the day. You can try to match the card to things (events or otherwise) in the day. You can also use it as a focus for your mood or personality but I feel that’s more spell-like and works great with oracle cards.

Other Uses

Tarot for Shadow Work

Shadow work is a pretty huge for tarot users, it seems. It’s not in my list but I think it might be pretty similar to some of the other tarot things I do.

I got this deck around Christmas last year and I’ve put off this review long enough. It’s taken me this long because I haven’t been able to find the right words for what this deck does to me. It finally came to me the other day when I saw someone post it on Reddit: “I have such a very strange, unexplainable reaction to it. It feels like a diary that I don’t want anybody else to know I have.”

*edit* I forgot to mention! When I got my deck the last 7 cards of the cups suit were missing. I contact someone through their website and they got back to me quickly and got the cards in the mail right away. If you have any problems with missing cards, let them know!

Initial Impression

I was quite smitten when I flipped through this deck the first time. It’s got a unique vibe. It’s got presence, a personality. If it was an element it would be earth.

Packaging

It came wrapped with the book in a lovely handkerchief that matches the deck. There was a red piece of yarn tied around it which I’ve since misplaced. The material is kind of rough (to me). I’m sure it would soften up with a wash or two but I wouldn’t want the lovely print to wear off.

nice easy way to contain the deck. really wrinkles the fabric though

Cardstock

It shuffles very well but it’s so thin it’s sad. It’s probably about as thin as the Tarot of the Vampyres, but it’s less springy/more bendy. I didn’t think it was possible to be shittier than the Vampyre deck but they somehow managed. Congratulations 😦

My deck took on a bit of a curve after just a week or two of use. I think the price for the deck is too high for the card quality. If the price was lower I’d pick up a backup deck.

Backs

me gusta

Art

I love the art! None of it is really something I’d hang on my wall. It’s not that kind of art. But it’s very earthy, sometimes grungy. It says something. This is a collaboration deck involving queers and or southerners, which makes it extra special with different art styles. But the color palette is limited to red, white, black, and gold which ties it all together. It’s very cohesive.

LWB

It’s perfect bound with 191 pages of nice, smooth paper. The cover is a heavier cardstock and both front and back are a flap style so you can unfold them to use as a sort of bookmark.

The text is very “do whatever the fuck you want” friendly. Use reversals, or not. Use your instincts, or not. There’s a nice enough blurb for each card (no thumbnails provided), along with a line or two for reversed meaning.

I’m disappointed that there are no custom spreads that come with it. The back of the book lists contributors and who did what.

Notable

Several Mijors were renamed, as well as all the suits, and court cards which “break from the gender binary”. Cool. I won’t list them all here but they seem to work rather well. I’d prefer they weren’t renamed but hey. What can ya do.

The Nine of Knives is very anxious to me but it is striking and well done. The 10 of Knives looks cool. It works. The Chariot and 6 of Knives are my least favorite. The vehicles bring a modern element which is sort of jarring to me. There are other modern bits here and there in the deck but they’re not nearly as obvious.

favorites on top, leave favorite on the bottom

Readability

So this is where it gets tricky. I have a bit of a hard time “getting” many of the images. I have to really stop and think about what I know from the RWS and translate it over. I haven’t been reading with it for a few weeks so I got rusty with it rather quickly. Would not recommend for a newbie.

Quickie Test Reading

I can’t remember the exact question I asked when I laid these cards the other day. I think it was “How do I grieve?”. I didn’t have any positions in mind. I just needed to toss some cards out.

2 of Wands, The Tower, 8 of Cups

I’ll quote some bits from the book:
“Breathe new life into a project. Breathe fire. Let yourself be catalyzed, not inhibited, by the past, and you will flourish. Let go of what holds you back, and let the vibrant life inside you surge forward.”

“Embrace change and chaos. Light a match. Let it all burn down. Release attachment. Open to profound clarity. Align yourself with the energy of creative destruction, and welcome the winds of renewal.”

“Allow your mourning to be generative.Turn the ashes of what was into the fertile soil that welcomes what is to come. From your grief, new connections can grow – if you let them.”

I’ll just leave that there.

Final Impression

I really do love this deck. It will always be a top favorite despite the name changes and shitty cardstock. I don’t think it would appeal to most people though.

I ran across the Meet Your Alter Ego tarot spread by the Daily Tarot Girl quite awhile ago. A month, maybe longer? I thought… how fun! My neglected inner-writer thought it could be a fun character building spread.

I was also thinking maybe it could help me bridge some kind of Gap of Understanding between reason and woo (because deep down inside I always think if woo was real it would be kind of cool). What if I could build an unadulterated persona (woo-sona?) to frolick in fields of comic crystal vibrations and spread rainbow bunny unicorn poop to the masses?

Or you know… Maybe I can just do the spread because I like trying spreads.

I kept putting it off. “I have to do it at the right time,” was one excuse. “I can’t decide on a deck to use!” was another excuse. I’ve never had problems choosing a deck before. So what gives?! Last night I made a note in my planner to do the spread today, no matter what. No more excuses. It looks fun and cute, why am I putting it off?

I probably could have done a spread about that.

me_irl tho

But I realized that I really was taking this way too seriously. I think it was getting all mixed up in this internal drama I’ve been having with myself about wanting to help people through tarot in a therapeutic way without being a therapist but keeping it secular and sane.

So I’m working on getting over it. I whipped out my Zombie tarot and got to work.

The Cards

forgive the cellphone pic. my nice camera is still a pain to use.

Play by Play

#1 – How the repressed parts of yourself are affecting your life – 6 of Cups

Childhood and nostalgia! The little boy here seems to have lost his hand. The girl doesn’t seem to mind. All seems to be well here…

I really do think about my past a lot. I often wonder how things would be different “if…”. I’m not too fond of my childhood. I have more negative memories than not. I don’t think I’m repressing the bad. Is it possible to repress the good? Oh. Ouch.That’s a tender spot there. Moving along!

#2, #3 and #4 – Personality traits, dreams, and issues that make up your alter ego – 2 of Hazards, 4 of Cups, The Chariot

Balance, dissatisfaction, drive? I read these three together. Seems no matter what I do, I’m not happy but I’m bound to find happiness somewhere, even if I have to just power through the crappy shit.

I’ll have to revisit this section I think.

#5 – How you can integrate your alter ego into your daily life – King of Cups

Oh ok so I’m just supposed to dive into my emotions and control them. I don’t consider myself much of an emotional person. This means my alter ego is?

#6 – How to embrace and work with your alter ego – 6 of Swords

I feel like this is telling me to travel. Maybe physically but the main point is to get out (of my head?), experience some life (different ways of thinking?), something like that.

#7 – Advice your alter ego has for you today! – Knight of Wands

Get out there! Be bold! And loud! Captain Jack Harkness pops up into my mind for some reason.

Final Thoughts

Well this was a fun little reading to do. I don’t know what more to say than that. I don’t think I’ll come up with a fleshed out character like Daily Tarot Girl’s but hey! It gave me something to think about.

I discovered Kimberly of Fables Den last year or so on YouTube and liked her immediately. Maybe it’s because we both like the Dreaming Way tarot. Maybe it’s how genuinely excitable and down-to-earth she is while still being spiritual, or that she has some unique things to say that make her stand out from all the other card slingers out there.

She did a little contest on her channel to give away some readings and I won! Of course I didn’t think I’d win so well… I was in love with how her readings looked and they were on sale so I bought the Wonderland reading. A day or two later I found out I won and she offered me a refund for the Wonderland reading, or I could keep the free one for later. I felt like I wanted to keep one for later so we went with that.

(I’ll cover the first reading here, and maybe I’ll do another post later about the 2nd reading. I’ll include some screenshots that might be a little awkward because I don’t want to share everything.)

This was my first professional reading and what I’d consider my first “real” reading, so I can’t compare it to other paid readings. I’ve gotten a couple little freebies online before but they weren’t too special or memorable. The last one I got was not bad, actually. But you know… kind of a big deal, my first paid tarot reading. I was a bit nervous because I didn’t exactly know what to expect but much less nervous than I felt looking at other people’s shops. Her graphics and outline in each listing are rather informative and really sparked my curiosity!

I got 11 pages total, including a sort of cover page, and a final page with a quote. It was such a beautiful presentation! She also included this bit on the cover page, which was cool:

I was only sad for a moment that she didn’t use the Dreaming Way 😉

I purchased the reading on October 29th, 2016 and she delivered the PDF on November 4th. We had exchanged a few messages over a couple days before she started the reading. She was super nice to talk to, understanding and patient with my paid-reading-newbness.

just a little selection on the first card. Isn’t the presentation lovely?

The reading for each card is a nice length. Enough to sink your teeth into. Some cards had more to them. And did I mention presentation?

This is for the 2nd card. As you can see, she goes all out. She goes into character while keeping it relevant to your reading. I don’t feel the word count was wasted using this method.

There is lots more to the PDF of course, and more than one character’s PoV.

This reading really rang true for me. It gave me something to think about (to be fair, EVERYTHING gets me thinking). It was warm, creative, fun to read, and actually helpful. Of course, it put the ball into my court and I think that’s what a good tarot reading should do.

Now… I very rarely get readings from others because I am quite happy to read for myself. I guess I was lured in by how novel her readings looked and I was curious how it would come out. Would I pay again for a reading like this? More importantly, would I pay full price? It’s hard to say. It really was a treat talking to her and getting this fun, unique bit of, I dare say, art? I do like to support indie artists. But, again… I am quite happy reading for myself.

If I ever do buy another reading from anyone, I would go to her first and be quite happy about it.

So… over 9000/10. Fables Den is wonderful and you should certainly check her out!

I haven’t posted a reading in awhile! So I thought I’d type up my first reading with my new Faery Forest Oracle. This isn’t a review, but spoiler alert: I’m rather pleased so far but I’m still trying to get used to it.

I tried The Cycles of the Moon Spread from the accompanying book. If you know me you know I love trying the spreads that were made for their decks. Maybe a little too much. Yes I still use a deck with a variety of other spreads but there’s something about using one meant for it, you know?

I was extra drawn to this spread because it doesn’t require a question. I like open ended spreads. So all I had to do was get in the mood (i.e. right frame of mind to settle down and focus on the task at hand).

The Cards

Play by Play

#1 Waning Moon – Isa (Stillness, Pause, Delicacy)

I feel like this is telling me that there is something I’ll no longer keep quiet on. This card reminds me to snap out of it, say something, do something. Even if it’s in my own little way. Just stop being quiet. This could be in regards to the bullshit going on in our country right now because I don’t feel like it’s speaking about any other matters.

#2 Dark Moon – Dark Moon (Vision, Trance, Apparitions)

This position is something about something I’m keeping hidden deep within, I think?

At first, I thought this card was trying to tell me that deep down inside I’m a fluffbunny that believes in woo. But I’m not completely sure what smelly orifice I pulled that out of. I know for certain it’s not true, but I will always admit (rather embarrassingly) that I sometimes wish that kind of bullshit was true. Wouldn’t it be neat? C’mon, admit it, an actual spirit guide would be handy. Being able to actually heal yourself with energy wheels inside your body would be incredible.

This is an interesting one to pick apart. As for dreams I am super interested in dreams and dreaming. They really fascinate me. I have very long, full, colorful dreams just about every night.

#3 New Moon – The Golden Unicorn (Protector, Guardian, Champion)

This was another “at first, I thought…” card. If I go with what the card text actually suggests, someone may be coming into my life that would take on an important role. I keep wanting to say “mentor”. Neat! I have been thinking that I’d like to find someone with whom I share the same beliefs who is doing with their practice what I want to do with mine.

#4 Waxing Moon – Ragnarok (Destruction, Ending, Final moment)

This position is about how something will come about, more or less. And how fantastic this card is to answer it. Something must be ended before something else begins. I feel like this reading is about my current struggles with what I want to do with my tarot readings so the card here could be telling me that something in this area needs to end. I did briefly think earlier “Maybe I should give all this up”. Maybe it means I need to stop reading for myself. Or stop being so against The Woo and just embrace it, as long as it lets me accomplish my goals. Or that I shouldn’t bother taking my tarot interest in any new directions.

#5 Full Moon – Shapeshifter (Transformation, Primal wisdom, Instinct)

Another card that is easy to read. At the end of all this, I think I’ll be transformed, so to speak. This makes sense after the previous card that speaks of endings. Something has to come from that and that will be something new. A new way of thinking, perhaps. A new outlook on my practice?

Final Thoughts

So that was my reading with the Faery Oracle. I think I’ll go over it again tomorrow and maybe stick in some after-thoughts. I think I got thrown off by one card but the rest seems to have fallen into place rather nicely. It seemed to speak about a specific issue even though the spread doesn’t require a question.

It seemed to speak about a specific issue even though the spread didn’t require a question. So I have a good, slightly less-stuck-in-my-own-head view of the issue.

I think I’ll leave this here for now. I’d love to know if you have this deck, how does it work for you? It seems to have a detached yet friendly and wise voice to me, what about you?

I’ve been eyebrows deep in tarot ‘n such lately! And I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with the future of my addiction hobby that somehow holds my interest longer than 3 seconds.

Lenormand!

Cute Little Lenormand by Sara M. Lyons

Lenormand has really captured my heart. I have put tons and tons of research into this particular form of cartomancy. I was even going to doodle my own deck until I found one that was what I had in mind. I’ve only really done one reading with it but it was really fun and clear for a first attempt.

So I’m all set up with a book and a journal. Here’s a peek into what I have for the Rider so far:

I’ve been making my way through the book and doing the exercises and it’s really making me think in different ways. I love it.

Oracle!

In an honest attempt to feed my card addiction be a more well rounded, helpful reader, I’ve decided to make an honest stab at oracle decks. I really dug deep into my little black soul to figure out my problems with them. I put weeks of research into decks and, not unlike during my Lenormand Research Phase, was plagued with strange but related dreams.

So I hauled:

I haven’t properly used any of them yet but I have been perusing their books. I expect I’ll have quiet time to play with them starting tomorrow. And I’ll note that I’m about 1,000x more excited about the Oracle of Shadows & Light than I thought I’d be. I have seen her decks with Jasmine Becket-Griffith before and loved it but didn’t think I’d like the decks. But I think I’ll get along real well with this one. I already want all of them! The art really appeals to my doll obsessed inner tween.

Tarot wraps!

Not a very helpful photo, but it’s proof I did a thing!

I recently have been eyeing some knitted and crocheted tarot wraps. I decided to make my own, just to see if I could. I figured it would look fantastic with my Bohemian Gothic tarot so I sized it for that. It actually took me days to get it perfect. I could have knit at least 10 in the time it took me to do this one. And somehow it didn’t end up fitting the intended deck. It fits quite nice for the Wild Unknown but that deck doesn’t need or deserve a fancy wrap.

I don’t know if I’ll make anymore knitted ones. It’s not really all that practical. Even if the edges didn’t curl up on me when trying to wrap it, it’s just not quick and easy to put a deck away. I’ll eventually try a crochet one because I have an idea to make it really pretty. But I think I’ll just try making a pouch next time.

Edging and Trimming!

I have been edging and trimming lately. I feel like I might be missing a deck but I edged and trimmed my Cute Little Lenormand and Dreaming Way tarot. I may go in and trim the labels off of the latter at some point.

I also edged half the cards for the Wild Unknown because I thought it looked neat like that at the time. But now I’m thinking I’ll do the rest of the cards. I also edged the Victoria Frances oracle and the Oracle of Shadows and Light. I’m trying to decide if I want to trim the Faery Forest oracle.

Workbook Journal Thing!

So I’ve been fiddling with an idea. I want to create a workbook journal sort of thing and provide it as a PDF for others to download. It’s purpose is to have a place to study and record detailed findings on each card in a deck. So you’d have 1 book per deck you wish to study. I bought a large sketchbook to test it out in but found it provided way too much space. So I got a smaller sketchbook…

Pro Art Hard Bound Sketch Book 5.5″X8″

And so far this one is working out much better. I even loved it enough to slap some indie stickies on it. I like the paper a lot more in this book as well. Here’s a peek at the inside:

I have been trying to figure out which deck to use this book with. It was going to be the Wild Unknown but ugh. Just ugh. All I know is I want to do a deck I feel drawn to read with but maybe it intimidates me for some reason. So maybe the Shadowscapes? Or I could pick a favorite like the Zombie tarot.

Reading for Others?

I’ve been thinking for some time now that I want to read for others. I really want to help people, even if it’s in some small way. I was a bit tipsy one night recently and posted on FB to see if anybody wanted a reading. I used the Zombie Tarot and my Mental Check spread. Some people really appreciated it and I didn’t hear back from a couple others but I had fun. I think if I did that in a more meaningful way (???) then that would give me a sort of purpose in life.

I do have some hangups though which I’ve been having a hard time processing. Who knows, maybe I’m overthinking all this (I have been doing that a lot lately) and I’m worried about nothing. I actually got a reading recently about all this and I need to finish reading it but I think it may be helpful in helping me figure all this out.

Stuff to Come!

Of course I always have a zillion tarot decks to review but now you can look forward to some oracle and Lenormand reviews. I want to do more Tarot Lies posts and I’m always up for just general answers of questions.

I want to finally get around to doing book reviews and I have a reader I’d like to review who has done 2 readings for me (one paid, one I won).

If there’s anything you’d like to see, let me know!

And do comment below what you’ve been up to in this wonderful hobby lately!

Because I totally needed another project to half-ass and then loose steam on halfway through, amiright?

So I recently was bitten by the Lenormand bug. I spent countless hours researching the cards and different decks and such. I can’t afford to buy one and I have no playing cards to convert so I thought I’d doodle up my own, much like my Hot Mess Oracle. I wanted it to be super cutesy, simple, tiny, and colorful.

Awwww shit of course it already exists. Fuuuuuck. It looks exactly as I pictured in my head. I may continue doodling my own but I won’t be in a hard hurry. I don’t want anybody saying I copied hers, so I have to try to change it up a bit. But I will be buying hers! I hear it’s being restocked this month.

So I’m like fuckit I’ll make a wee little photo Lenormand ’cause I like that idea. And I’ll use stock photos because I want to get this done in my lifetime and that makes it fun anyway. I want to have simple, in-your-face, obvious imagery.

So this is what I have so far:

Ignore the green borders, blue, and red dashed borders.

There are several images I’m not super happy with but they do the job. I may replace some of them. And I can’t find the perfect image for the rest of them. These are all free stock images. I may have to start paying at this point. That’s fine though.

I do plan on putting at least an unobtrusive number on each card, maybe some sort of basic decorative borders.

It’s not a specially exciting project but it kept me a little busy for awhile.

On a related note, I’ve been playing around with some photo manipulation/collage type stuff and I’m tempted to do something oracle-y with them. I’ve only made about 4 so far but they’ve been more meaningful and thought provoking than 99.9% of the oracle decks I see (which isn’t saying much) so I may be doing something with that.

hah. I started this post months ago. I guess it’s worth finishing and putting up…

Previously on Tarot Lies, we discussed how we’re told we can’t read for ourselves. Today I’ll be ranting about another fucking lie that really gets to me: “You have to be gifted your first deck.” From what I can tell this lie isn’t spread as much as the first one. But it still makes me roll my eyes.

This deck was gifted to me in my early days of taroting, back in 2001ish.

Don’t get me wrong about gifting. It’s wonderful to give and be given a deck! And if it’s your first one, that’s fantastic! Even better if it’s a hand-me-down, something from an elder, perhaps? That is really awesome and I am jealous of people who have family members who hand their decks down. SO JELLY.

But let’s get fucking real here. If you’re afraid of buying your own deck because you think it’s bad luck, something bad will happen or whatever – you’re just being superstitious. STAHP. We don’t like superstition around here. (if you do then I apologize but you’re at the wrong blog)

I’ve done some poking around to see if there is some sort of origin behind this silly lie but I couldn’t find anything. So let’s break this down, look at it a little more logically than “DURR HURR SUPERSTITION”. (wow I’m really being a bit of a cunt now)

Gifted a First Deck

Pros:

Free deck, yay!

If it came from someone you respect, that makes it special.

It could be a good way to get your feet wet in the hobby, especially if you’re nervous about picking your own deck (which you totally shouldn’t be!). And specially if you hadn’t really thought to try it out before.

Cons:

This is the biggest, most detrimental con I can think of: many people would be waiting their whole lives to be given a deck and that’s just depressing.

You may not like the deck given to you and if you’re completely new to it, it may put you off the hobby.

It’s just silly. Go buy your own deck if you can.

Buying your own Deck

Pros:

You got to pick your own deck, something that you were (hopefully) attracted to.

You get to be the one to break it in! Nothing wrong with receiving a used deck but it’s also nice to be the first to break in a deck. It’s clean, fresh, and crisp, and probably smells amazing and doesn’t have anybody else’s cooties on it.

You’re taking control of your wants and needs, which is rather powerful and very important here.

The process of looking for your very first deck can be so fun and educational. At the very least if you’re an art lover you can enjoy it as an art journey.

Cons:

You just spent $15+ on something that maybe you won’t actually be into. That can be a huge chunk of money in some situations.

Like the last pro above, looking for your first deck can be overwhelming to some people. You may feel like you may pick the “wrong” one and that can be detrimental to your tarot future if you let it.

I really can’t think of any other cons. Just go buy your own deck!

Final Thoughts

I feel like the pros greatly outnumber the cons when it comes to buying your first deck. I really don’t know what else to say about it!

I think the only way this “rule” can work is if you have a family that is into this sort of stuff and you know it’s just a matter of time before you’ll receive your first deck. Like I said above, I think that kind of tradition is pretty neat if all parties involved are into it.

So tell me! Did you recieve your first deck as a gift? Tell me all about it! Did you have an interest in it before? Was it a family tradition thing? Was it random? Was it something you asked for? Tellll meeeee.

This is a deck that I got shortly before moving so it ended up in storage for over a year. I didn’t think I was into it and figured I’d give it away, but I wanted to review it first. In the process of reviewing I kind of fell in love ❤

yasss mommy likey

Initial Impression

It was so long ago but I remember kind of thinking “well the art is pretty but hard to read”. It wasn’t providing me any clues to go off of intuitively so I never ended up using it. I also loved how sciency and spacy it is.

Packaging

It’s my favorite kind of tarot packaging. A nice, super sturdy box with just enough room to hold the cards and the LWB.

Cardstock

Perfect for shuffling. Thin, as expected from a standard Lo Scarabeo deck, but not too thin.

Backs

I wholeheartedly approve.

Art

It’s very pretty and soft? ethereal? Maybe a little too soft, in a way because there isn’t much weight to the imagery to anchor the scenes. Does that make sense?

And I’d like to quickly mention that I like the borders.

upper row favorites: heh. I’m 12 and the ace of wands looks like a wang.lower row: the Devil here doesn’t do much for me. The rest break the whole spacey vibe of the deck.

LWB

It’s great! I love it. It has a “basic course” which includes a science related alternate name for each card (e.g. 0 The Fool – The Big Bang), a mini traditional tarot description, and a question relevant to the card (e.g. for the Fool: What journey are you ready to embark upon?) and in the next section each card has a longer, science related description. It has English

The next section is called “advanced course” and has a good size paragraph about something sciency that they’ve tried in with the card and expand on the meaning of the card.

There is English, Italian, Spanish, French, and German. However English is the only language that includes the “advanced course”.

One last thing worth mentioning is that there are 2 spreads included. They seem all right. They don’t show card positions but that’s all right. I show the results of one of the spreads below.

Notable

The cards are matte, but there is glossy embossing on every card. The frames are all embossed and then there’s always a little extra embossed.

The cards are matte, but there is glossy embossing on every card. The frames are all embossed and then there’s always a little extra embossed. Usually, it’s there to enhance something that’s already there. It sort of acts as the anchoring I spoke of as above. It’s a fairly unique feature as the only other deck I can think of that does this is the Tarot of the Silicon Dawn.

Also notable is there are 2 extra cards. I don’t use extra cards but it’s cool they were included.

the extra cards: The Phoenix and The Universe. Here I tried to capture the glossy embossing. Lovely, yes?

Readability

So I did one reading with them and feel like I need to play with them a lot to get used to the different sort of imagery. The reading I did I had to lean heavily on the book but it was a great reading.

Quickie Test Reading

I tried out the Relativity Spread. The cards are Space – where are you at the moment? Time – what will change in the near future? Gravity – what is attracting me?, and I left out the last card but it’s Relativity – key to integration.

Final Impression

I’m glad I decided to review this deck. I think I may end up using it. I do feel like I’ll be using the book as a crutch but I’ll see what happens!

I wouldn’t recommend this for a beginner but if you love science or even just the art, it could be worth grabbing at some point.